Meet The HEC Paris MBA Class of 2017

Jacob Daria 

HEC Paris

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

Undergraduate School and Major:

Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia), MSc In Biology

Paris 7 Diderot University (Paris, France), PhD in Virology

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Institut Pasteur (Paris, France), contractual researcher in vaccine development

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE?  I suggest the approach of “practice makes perfect.” Succeeding in the GMAT or GRE is about regular training. The applicant should identify his or her initial level by doing an evaluation test and define which topics need to be reviewed. In my opinion, scheduling regular practice sessions is the best way to boost one’s score and be on time for the application deadline.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? The process of school selection is highly important as we all want to make the best of our MBA experience, so learning more about various schools is the primary task of a future applicant. Visiting schools’ open days can be of great help, as such events really show the schools from the inside. One’s future career plans are a major consideration for choosing a particular business school. However school ranking, class size, geographic location ,and competitive/collaborative spirit of the school are also important factors to consider. I think that each applicant should identify what is most important for his or her personal experience and draw a list of schools accordingly.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? The advice I would give is to show the admissions team who you really are, what you want to do in life, and how this is important. Show your personality and uniqueness and how you plan to bring change to the world.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? HEC Paris was number one on my list of MBA schools, as it has an excellent entrepreneurship track, which is the cornerstone for my future career plans. Moreover, I really admired the open-mindedness and willingness to exchange and overall spirit of this MBA program, as it welcomes various careers profiles and career switches. HEC Paris MBA is highly international, with an outstanding faculty and a relatively small class. And last but not least, HEC Paris MBA is ranked first in Europe by The Economist.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? During the MBA program, I plan to acquire and master essential business skills that will allow me to achieve my career goals. However, the MBA experience is not only about academic learning and training, and therefore I aim at sharing my experience with my classmates and learning from them. Such exchange will allow us to create long-lasting connections and partnerships for our post-MBA plans.

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